Fire and Ice
by rawrmuffin466
Summary: Gail comes to the realization that she is Ice and Holly is fire. Will they be able to work through differences and finally be with each other or will one of them melt while the other is put out. A sort of continuation of "Your Hero"
1. Analogies

You wake up and even with your eyes closed you know you're somewhere new. These sheets are definitely not yours, they're puffy and soft and warm. The  
mattress is not yours, you can't feel that one spring that always manages to jab you in the side. You don't hear the hum of the fan you always turn on before  
going to bed, you _never_ forget to turn it on. Perhaps the one thing that alarms you most of all is the sound of someone breathing next to you.

It's been almost a full minute since you woke up and you're still trying to find the courage to open your eyes and see exactly where you are, which is funny seeing that you're a cop. You're supposed to be fearless. The person next to you groans and you hear them roll around until they've found a comfortable position. You figure it's now or never and when you open your eyes you're momentarily blinded by the light coming through the window. When your eyes finally start to adjust you slowly turn your head and are met with the face that you're starting to know so well.

As you take in her features, memories of the previous night flood your mind. Being dressed like the helpless child you had become, being held as your dams burst and the tears spilled over. She's laying on her side facing you, her arms pulled close to her chest. You're not sure why but you scoot over until you're almost nose to nose and pull her arm over your side and you place your forehead in the crook of her neck. She stirs and you fear that you've woken her up but she just shifts her legs and pulls you in tighter and you're positive that you've never felt as safe as you do now.

When you wake up for the second time, it's to soft humming, and gentle fingers drawing circles on your bare back. You press your lips to the smooth skin beneath your head, the humming stops and fingers immediately still on your back. You press another small kiss to her throat before you pull your face up to hers. You weave your fingers through thick hair and capture her lips with your own. Her reaction is delayed, her fingers splay out on the small of your back before she pulls you flush with her and kisses you back.

After a moment she drags her lips from yours to your cheek and brings up a hand to play with the tiny hairs at the nape of your neck. You let out a sigh and rest your head on her shoulder, reveling in the warmth that spreads from her touch.

"You think you could love me?" you rasp out, remembering her statement last night as she was rocking you to sleep. You hear her swallow and you swear you can hear the gears turning in her head. She shifts to lay on her back, careful to keep your head on her shoulder.

"One day. One day I think I could." she whispers, running her fingers through your hair.

You think about saying it back but you know she heard you when you whispered it back last night. So instead of continuing this intimate moment you do what you do best. You begin to untangle yourself from her and murmur "I'm a cat."

She stops your movements by pulling you down and wrapping her arms and legs around your limbs so you can't escape her grasp.

"And you don't like being up in the tree." she continues for you. "Gail, Gail look at me." you hesitantly pull your head up and meet her eyes. They're deep and gentle and understanding and you're sure that if you're not careful you could get lost in them. "Gail, I'm willing to climb that tree with you."

You try, you really try but you can't stop the tears that well up in your eyes. Holly immediately sees and her hands go to your cheeks, thumbs at the ready to catch any tears that dare spill over. You surge forward and press your lips to hers. You lay a hand on her hip and the other is crushed between you, one of her hands leaves your face and trails down to the hem of your t-shirt.

You're focusing less on the soft lips that are on yours and more on her finger tips, which have now found their way under your shirt and are trailing up and down your bare back. Her fingers burn your skin, leaving a trail of fire wherever they go. When you think about it, it all makes sense. Holly is fire, she's bright, passionate, intriguing and full of life and you're afraid of getting too close because you might get burned. Still focusing on the burning trail on your back, you think of yourself. You're cold, you're mean and unforgiving, yet in Holly's arms you simply melt. Fire and ice, what a pair. You chuckle at your analogy and Holly pulls away from your lips, her fingers still moving in patterns. She looks at you and her eyes crinkle in the corners as she grins at you.

"What" she breathes

You're confused for a second and then you realize that you were kissing a gorgeous woman, and you were off in your head thinking about stupid fire and ice analogies.

"It's nothing. I just thought of something funny." you squeeze her waist and press your body even closer to hers, settling your cheek on her chest.

"Thinking while I'm kissing you? You need to sort out your priorities."

"Ron Weasley to Harry." You mumble into her skin. She laughs and kisses the top of your head.

"And you call me the nerd."

You bite her shoulder, you are not a nerd. You just know a good book when you read it.

* * *

It's been weeks since that first night/morning you spent in Holly's bed. You've been going over to her apartment a few times a week, well, more nights than not. It's become somewhat of a routine. After your shift ends you drive around for a while until you end up at Holly's. She's started to keep a spare key under that mat in case you arrive after she's already gone to bed. You usually end up crawling right in beside her in nothing but your underwear. Sometimes she holds you, sometimes you kiss. Most of the time it's a mixture of both. Then in the morning you wake up before her, kiss her on the cheek and make your way home to sneak into your room so no one knows you were gone.

At the moment you're at work, behind your desk and Chris has been talking your ear off for the past ten minutes. You haven't actually listened to a word he's said. You just nod your head every few sentences. You've been thinking about Holly, and how soft her lips are and how she knows when you just need to be held. Suddenly you're torn out of your thoughts because Chris has just spoken the words, "Hey Holly". At first you thought you were thinking out loud, then you realize he's looking behind you. You spin in your chair and are met with the sight of Holly, making her way towards you with a smile on her face and a paper bag in hand.

She's at your desk now and she's said hi, and you still haven't responded because for some reason your mouth can't seem to form words.

"Or not hi" she chuckles and places the bag on your desk. "I know you had a late start today and I'm getting back from my lunch break so I thought I'd bring you a sandwich." She shuffles her feet as you still don't respond to her. Then something clicks in your brain and your mind is filled with too many words. You stand up and grab Holly by the arm. You start pulling her towards the door and you stop right outside of it. You release her arm and fold yours over your chest.

"What are you doing here?" you spit. You didn't mean for it to come out so bitchy, honestly.

"I told you. I brought you lunch. I k-"

"Yes, I heard that part but _why."_

She looks at a loss for words for a second before she mimics your stance. "Because I'm a _friend_ Gail. And I thought we were on our way to becoming more."

You can't help but glance around to make sure no one heard the last part of that, and you hate yourself for it.

"Yeah, well we're not." you can see the hurt on her face as soon as she registers your words. "You're just a warm body Holly." You really did not want to say any of that, but the words were already on the tip of your tongue and besides, you're Gail Peck, this is what you do. You ruin good things and you push away the people who care about you most. Your stomach twists as Holly visibly recoils at your words. You see the tears in her eyes before she looks down and blinks them back. Without looking up from the floor and without a word she makes her way out of the station. Your mind and heart are screaming at you to say something, to go after her, to tell her how much of a fucking idiot you are, but your feet won't move and your mouth won't let any words escape.

When you finally get back to your desk you open the bag Holly had placed there. There's a sticky note hanging off the wrapped sandwich. In Holly's messy handwriting is a single word: "Dinner?". Even though you've lost any appetite you had before, you unwrap the sandwich just to see what she got. Right, of course she remembered what your favorite was. Why the hell were you such a bitch?


	2. A thousand Sorrys

You fucked up. You fucked up big time and you know it. You've known it since the words came out of your mouth. You've never hated yourself more than you do now. It's been about an hour or so since you ruined things so you text her, multiple times.

_I'm a bitch. I'm sorry._

_I didn't mean it. At all. _

_Holly._

_Please respond. _

_Please…_

After she didn't respond to your texts, which she _always_ replies to, you decide to call. At first it rings then she sends it to voicemail. After a few more calls she's turned her phone off. You call one more time to leave a message.

"Hey, Holly um it's me. Me Gail, calling. Um, I hope you got my texts, I'm sorry. God I'm so sorry Holly please call me back or text me or something. Like you are the farthest thing from a warm body, I mean you're warm but..ugh. I know I messed up and I just want to know how or if I can fix it. There has to be-im sorry."

You end the message with a sigh, you close your phone and let it fall to the desk as you hold your head in your hands. Your phone starts ringing and you shoot up, scrambling to reach it before it goes to voicemail.

"Hello? Holly?"

_"Um, Dov. You want me to pick up something for dinner?"_

"Dov." You state, clearly disappointed. "I'm not hungry. Besides I've got plans."

_"Okay, well just thought I'd ask. Stay safe out there."_

Before he hangs up you manage to add a tiny "thanks" in there, you have got to start being nicer.

As soon as your shift ends and you've changed out of your bulky uniform, you feel like you can breathe a little better. This whole thing with Holly has put a giant weight on your chest and you feel like you could pass out at any moment. You don't stop to talk to anyone, instead you make a beeline straight for your car while dialing Holly one last time. Straight to voicemail, you don't bother leaving a message, you just rambled during the last one and it probably make you look even stupider in Holly's eyes. You speed all the way to her apartment, which is funny, because you're a cop. You take the stairs two at a time until you reach her door. You take a deep breath and lift the mat up. No key. You run your hand over the doorframe in hopes that she just put it in a better hiding place. No key. Holly has taken the key and punched you in the gut. You knock, you know it's completely and utterly stupid at this time of night but you knock. It's not a light one either, you use your fist because you want her to hear and you want her to come out here to yell at you so you can just kiss her and let her know how sorry you are. You aren't concerned about waking up the neighbors, besides, you're a police officer.

The door is suddenly ripped open and you almost fall forward because you were in mid-knock. She doesn't try to help you regain your balance, she just stands there. One hand on the door and the other holding her robe closed. You bring your eyes to her face and you can tell she's been crying. You've never seen Holly cry but now you know what the aftermath looks like. Her eyes are puffy and her cheeks are red. You stomach twists again because you know you're the reason for this.

"Oh Holly." You whisper reaching out for her but she just holds a hand up to stop you.

"What do you want?" she asks monotonously.

"I want to talk to you." You say, looking right at her, you will not look away because that shows weakness.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that I did not want to-" she is interrupted by the clearing of a throat. You both look down the hall and see a middle aged woman in a robe and slippers giving you a glare. "People are trying to _sleep_ Holly." The woman says lowly.

"Sorry Mrs. Humphee." She whispers and backs into her apartment. You stand there not knowing what to do, you've never been in this position before, two women giving you death glares at the same time. You feel exposed, naked almost.

"Get in here." Holly hisses opening the door a bit wider.

You shove your hands in your pocket and look at the woman, "Sorry, it won't happen again." You whisper as you shuffle inside Holly's apartment.

You stand there in the dark of the apartment, facing the hallway, you flinch when you hear the door shut. Something about the way she shut it, you just know she wanted to slam it but she held back. Either because she didn't want to upset her neighbor anymore, or because she wasn't going waste any of her rage meant for you on the door.

What has been seconds feels like minutes. You're both just standing there, neither of you saying anything. Holly as made it clear she will not be speaking first and you don't expect her to so you pull your hands out of your pockets and turn around to face her. Her arms are folded tightly across her chest. Her glare still firmly in place, eyes still red from crying. There's another punch to your gut when you remember again, that you are the reason for this.

"Holly, at the station. I-I panicked," you say. Already making excuses for yourself. "I didn't mean it. God I would never mean something like that."

"Why did you say it?" she asks, looking down at the floor. The fact that she won't even look at you kills you inside.

Your mouth opens and closes for a second. Why did you say it? Why would something like that even cross your mind? "I, don't. I don't know Holly." You state quietly.

You let your hands drop at your sides and look at her because you know your words are getting nowhere. Even though you've hardly said anything you know that it's no use. You're in deep and you're only making things worse for yourself.

"Gail."

She speaks it so softly you thought you imagined it at first. But she spoke, and it was your name so you look up, trying to hide the smile on your face.

"I would like you to leave." And there it is. The final punch to your gut, you feel like passing out. You whisper an "okay" and make your way out. The door shuts silently behind you and you can't stand anymore, your legs refuse to hold you up. You sink to the floor and lean against the wall, cursing yourself. You start to cry and you're very aware that Holly is not there to catch your tears.

* * *

It's three in the morning and you absolutely cannot sleep. Every time you close your eyes you see Holly standing there looking broken. You are the reason one of the strongest women you know, is hurting. You did that and you will never forgive yourself. You've been up for hours thinking of how to fix this, you don't even know if this can be fixed, but you're sure as hell going to try.

A cup of coffee and a bag of cheese puffs later, something clicks. You scramble for a piece of stationary and a pen that actually works and you start writing.

_Holly, _

_My fantastic Holly. I'm not even sure I can call you "mine" after what I did, what I said to you. I could say sorry a thousand times and it still wouldn't be enough. I know that and I hate it, but most of all I hate myself. I caused you pain and that tears me up on the inside. I felt trapped, I was scared and I bit at the one person who cares about me the most. But being scared is no excuse, I'll never forgive myself for saying what I did. You're a fire Holly, you draw me in and I guess I just realized that I was getting close and I didn't want to get burned. Just please know that I think you are absolutely amazing. You're beautiful, and smart, and a giant nerd and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You make me want to be a better person, you remember my favorite sandwiches, you make me feel things that I've never felt and that scares me to death. I don't deserve you, especially after what I did. I know there's nothing I can do to make it up, that the damage I did will never fully heal. I was a complete and total ass, and I just hope that you will take my words and allow them to be the first steps of me helping to wash away the pain that I caused. Because Holly, the reality is, I want nothing more than for you to pull me in, to engulf and surround me. Damn it, Holly Stewart, every day I fall a little bit more in love with you, it scares the shit out of me, but I mean it with all my cold heart._

_Gail Peck_

* * *

It's Monday, you've given Holly a full weekend of space. This morning you slid the letter you wrote under her door and you've been sitting here waiting ever since. It's Monday, you've given Holly a full weekend of space. This morning you slid the letter you wrote under her door and you've been sitting here waiting ever since. You're just here to do some paperwork which is nice, because it allows you to constantly check your phone for any sign of Holly. You're almost done with the last sheet of work you have to do, and Holly still hasn't contacted you. At this point you're wondering if she even read the letter. You grab a sheet of printer paper and start to doodle. You need a break from the work and this will give Holly some extra time to get back to you, maybe she's just really busy.

Thirty minutes later, no more paper work and no sign of Holly you are ready to leave. Your ass hurts from sitting in the chair and your brain won't stop yelling at you for even thinking that Holly would accept your words. You turn off the desk lamp and make your way out the double doors. You've unlocked your car when you hear her voice.

"You're such a bitch."

You can't help it, the corners of your mouth turn up as you register your words.

"I'm worse than a bitch." You counter, turning around, leaving your keys hanging in the door. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She doesn't say anything, she only cocks her head to the side, and lifts an eyebrow in question as she lifts a small piece of paper. You register something between a chuckle and a sob coming from your throat. You know exactly what that paper is. It's the little green sticky note you left on the back of the letter with one word in the middle, "Dinner?"


	3. You're a dream

You are currently hiding behind your menu, giving the occasional glance over the menu to see if Holly is watching you. You're still deciding what to get, and you may be taking your time so you have longer to use the menu as a shield. Holly, on the other hand, has placed her menu down minutes ago. Her hands are fiddling with a packet of sugar but you can feel her eyes burning through the menu.

Eventually the waitress comes and takes your orders, and your so called shield. You contemplate staring that the table but you know you can not mess this up. This is the next step in fixing what you fucked up. When you finally gather the courage to lift your eyes to meet Holly's, the corner of her mouth quirks up. It was small and quick but you notice it and the knot in your stomach unravels a little bit.

"Why?"

You're caught off guard. You weren't expecting her to speak so soon.

"Um, I-I don't know. I felt trapped I gue-"

"No Gail." her voice is hard, and this is the first time you've heard her use this tone and you do not like it. At all. "Why the letter?"

"Oh," you straighten in your seat and fold your hands on the table. You decide to switch your gaze from Holly to your hands. "Well, I figured you didn't want to see me and I'm terrible at talking about my feelings. So, the letter gave me the chance to write out what I wanted to say, and allowed you to decide whether to read it or to be rid of me forever."

She nods her head and watches her wine as she swirls it in her glass.

"Now, why." she asks, looking back up at you.

You take a minute with this question again. "Holly..." You hold your hands out on the table, welcoming her to place her hands in yours. "Please," you say, nodding to your open hands. After a moment she places her hands in your waiting ones and you hold on tight, you aren't going to let her go again. For a second you are taken aback by how warm her hands are, and you realize just how much you missed touching her.

"I was scared. Holly, coming to you at night and laying in your arms was like a dream. It was like a perfect little dream where I could have stayed forever. When you came into the station...the dream started to become real, so I did what I do best. I emotionally maim in order to save myself."

"To save yourself?" she scoffs, and you can feel her starting to pull her hands away.

"Listen," you say, softly adjusting your grip on her hands. "You were my dream, nothing could go wrong. I didn't want things to become real, because when things are real, they can fall apart so easily and people get hurt. I was afraid of falling Holly. I was afraid because you've got me so high up, if I fell, I'd break. I wouldn't be able to dust myself off and walk away with a skinned knee. So I did what I always do. So I hurt you before I could be hurt."

There are tears in your eyes now and you think you saw a tear make its way down Holly's cheek. "I'm falling in love with you Holly. I am so so sorry for what i said. I regretted it the moment it came out."

Her thumb runs back and forth over your knuckles. Watching the soothing motions of her thumb calms you while you wait for Holly to respond. You laid it all out on the table for her. You've exposed yourself and you feel raw. The longer she doesn't say anything the worse your stomach hurts. Though, you figure that even if she hasn't said anything yet, she's still holding your hand which is a good thing. This gives you some comfort. When the food comes she lets go of your hand and looks at you.

"You're falling in love with me." she states. grabbing her fork, not looking away from you. You nod your head, you don't think you can talk without your voice cracking.

"You really mean it?" she asks

Once again you nod your head and she seems to relax a bit. She's silent for another minute or so before she brings up the new celebrities that are going to be on Dancing With the Stars.

* * *

"You're not completely off the hook." she says setting your to-go box on the top of your car.

"I know." you respond, leaning your back against the driver side door. She brought you back to the station to drop you off at your car. She then decided that she would walk you to your car because 'who knows what lurking out there'. You had told her you had serious doubts that anyone was out in the parking lot seeing that they were outside the station, but she had already gotten out of the car.

"And you're a bitch." she says stepping a little closer.

"I know." you stand your ground and look her in the eye.

"And..." she breathes coming even closer, reaching for your hand, while her other hand plays with the zipper on your open jacket.

"And..." you mimic, tilting your head towards her.

"And I think I'm falling in love with you."

"You stole my line."

You hear a quiet "sorry officer" and then her lips are on yours for a second before she pulls away. Your mind goes back to the coatroom kiss, but you know this kiss wasn't the result of a shared bottle of champagne. You pull her closer by her hips and wrap you arms around her waist. As she slides her arms around your neck you press your face into her shoulder. The two of you stand there for a couple of minutes in comfortable silence before you tell her you're sorry again. She simply says she knows and squeezes you a little tighter. She pulls away and kisses you on the corner of your mouth as she grabs your box off the car and hands it to you.

"I'll see you later Gail. Thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for letting me take you. I mean it." you murmur. Holly just smiles and pushes her glasses up. You watch her get in her car and drive off before you even unlock your door.

* * *

The door opens and closes softly. A second later Dov falls down next to you so hard you almost drop your beer.

"Watch it" you hiss sitting up a little more. You sit in silence as the commercials drone on, you can feel his eyes on you but you won't give him the satisfaction of knowing he's annoying you, so you stare at the tv. As soon as your show comes back on he clears his throat and re-situates himself next to you.

"How's Holly?"

"Shes fine."

"How was dinner?"

"It was fine."

"So the date went well?"

"It went fine."

"So it was a date!" he exclaims jumping up, sporting a grin almost as wide as his face.

"No! It wasn't a date." you sigh leaning farther back into the cushion behind you.

"Really? What was it then?" he jabs sarcastically.

"It was an apology dinner." you say holding your beer closer to you. Dov crosses his arms and stares, waiting for you to continue. "I was a bitch, I bought dinner and apologized. That's all."

"Really?" he asks sitting down next to you again.

"Really." you mumble, picking at the label of your beer.

"I had a bet with Andy. I said you two were on a date. She said there was no way."

You stare at him for a moment before you realize something. "How did you guys know about the dinner?"

He chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. "We saw Holly meet you outside in the parking lot and before that we had seen the post-it note that said 'dinner?'. So we put two and two together and came up with a bet."

"That's creepy." he nods and you stare at him for another minute.

You put your half finished beer on the table and stare at your hands in your lap. "Wanna know a secret?" you ask.

"I guess." he says kicking his shoes off.

"The apology dinner will lead to me taking Holly on dates...hopefully."

"What?" he twists his body so he's facing you.

"You are such a girl." you grumble pushing him back. "But anyway, we were...um..."

"You were what?"

You mute the tv before mimicking his position on the couch.

"Look. You're going to be the first person who hears this okay?"

he nods.

"I would like you to keep this to yourself, for now." and another nod

"Dov, understand that this is hard for me okay?" you mutter, suddenly feeling vulnerable. He gets a serious look on his face and give a tiny "okay"

"Holly and I... we were kind of a thing." You're staring at your hands again but you can see the smile on his face out the corner of your eye. "I would um, I would go to her place most nights. I would sneak over here in the morning so no one would know." You chance a glance at him and what you see takes you by surprise. He wears an expression of understanding, you can tell that he cares and it makes you feel safe. You clear your throat before you continue.

"She brought lunch to the station one day. Just being nice, being a _friend_, you know? I panicked...and told her that she was just a warm body to me. I finally wrote her a letter to apologize and took her to dinner."

"Why?" he asks quietly. "Why would you say that?"

You sigh and run your hand through your hair. You've gotten better and explaining why you said such a terrible thing to someone you care so much about. You've had a lot of time to think about it.

"Any time spent with her was perfect. We were in a little bubble. I was scared that if people knew about our bubble they would pop it. And you know me, I-"

"popped it before someone got the chance." he finishes for you.

"exactly" you puff out. He smiles at you and pats your leg.

"Hey, I'm glad you told me."

"If you tell anyone I swear..." you trail off, picking up your beer again.

"Gail. Don't worry. This will be out little secret until you let the rest of the world know."

You're quiet for a second. "I am going to tell people you know."

"Okay."

"After things work themselves out. When Holly and I are actually together I'm not going to hide it. I made that mistake last time." You're suddenly thrown back on the cushions with Dov almost crushing you in a hug, and your beer hits the floor. It takes a minute but you manage to roll him off of you and onto the ground. He sits up and grins at you.

"I'm really proud of you Gail." he says using your knee to help him up. "Until you tell everyone I'm here for you if you ever need to talk about Holly stuff. You can talk to me even after you tell people. Just.." he pauses and looks you right in the eye. "I'm here for you Gail and I'm really happy you opened up to me. I won't let any of this slip out. Promise." He messes up your hair before he makes his way down the hall. You pull out your phone and type out a message to Holly.

_*...I told Dov*_

You get a reply in less than a minute, followed by another.

_*Baby steps right?*_

_*I'm proud of you Gail*_

* * *

**I apologize for this update taking so long. School has kept me really busy, but know that I have not and will not forget about this story. Thank you all so much for the reviews, they mean a lot. **


	4. Miss you

You're awoken by a profoundly annoying ringing. You look up at the clock, the red lights shining "3:45" into the darkness of your room. For another second you wonder why someone hasn't answered their phone yet. Then, you recognize the ringtone, it's the custom ringtone you set for Holly. You slap your hand on your bedside table but your phone isn't in it's usual place. You must've fallen asleep holding it while you played candy crush. Jumping up from the bed you scramble trying to find the phone. If Holly is calling at this time it must be something important. You fling your blanket to the side and hear something solid hit the floor. The ringing stops as you grab your phone from the ground. Just as you're about to call her back it rings again. As soon as you slide your finger across the screen and bring the phone up to your ear she starts talking.

"_Gail? Oh thank God."_

"Holly?" you whisper, in fear of waking up the others in the house. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"_Can you come over? Like, NOW" _

Before she's even done asking the question you're sliding your pants over your hips and shoving your foot in a shoe. "I'm leaving now. Holly, what's wrong?"

_"It's probably nothing, and I'm probably being stupid but I think I hear something outside my door."_

Her words cause you to speed up even more. Before you know it you're already speeding towards her apartment building.

"I'll stay on the phone until I get there. Holly where are you? Where in your apartment." you ask frantically, speeding through a red light. No one is on the road at this hour and besides, you're a cop.

_"My room." _she breathes and you speed up a little more.

"I'm right around the corner, what did you hear?"

_"Um, at first it sounded like my handle turning and then like...scratching, almost."_

You slam on the brakes as you enter the parking lot, not even bothering to park in a parking place.

"Holly. Stay on the phone. I'm here." you whisper as you quietly enter her building. You pull the phone away from your ear and hear what faintly sounds like metal scratching against metal. You start up the stairs and reach for your gun quickly remembering you're not in uniform. You figure you can take someone down if you need to, and grip the phone tighter. You're almost at the top of the stairs when you see it, a dark figure a few doors down, right around where you know Holly's door to be. You step a little too loudly on the top step and the figure turns towards you and runs. You only have time to yell "Hey" before he's pushed past you, knocking your phone out of your hand and almost sending you down the stairs. You regain your balance and chase after the guy. He's out the door before you reach the end of the stairs but you're close enough to see him turn right.

You jump the last couple of stairs and burst out the door. As you turn right you see him just a few yards ahead of you. You push yourself to reach him but he's much faster than you. He looks behind him and when he sees you he takes a sharp right in between two buildings. Once you get to where he turned, he's disappeared. You quickly walk through the pathway checking for hiding places but quickly deduce that he's long gone. Remembering that Holly is still in her apartment, probably scared shitless you jog back to her door, and knock. When she doesn't answer you knock again, but accompany it with a "Holly. It's Gail." As you back away from the door you realize whoever you chased away left his lock-pick in the lock.

The door swings open and you are immediately engulfed in Holly. Her face is buried in your neck and her hands are gripping at the back of your shirt. You wrap an arm around her waist and run your fingers through her hair.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here babe."

She pulls away slightly but is still clinging to your Pink Floyd shirt you sleep in. "You're okay?" she asks, looking you up and down.

"I'm fine. I promise." You whisper, reaching behind you to grab her hand. "We should probably call the cops." you say leading her back into her apartment. After you call and they say they're sending someone over you look at Holly and raise an eyebrow. "You probably should've called the cops first."

* * *

You're staring at the ceiling in the darkness, one arm behind your head and the other wrapped securely around Holly. Even though Chris (who was the officer on scene) assured Holly that the guy most likely wouldn't come back you could tell that she was still scared. You didn't blame her, if someone tried to pick their way into your home you'd be a little apprehensive too. So you casually mention that it wouldn't be a problem if she came home with you. As soon as the words were out of your mouth she looked at you like she wanted to kiss you. Instead of making a move like you so badly wanted you just chuckled and offered to help her pack a bag

When you got back to your room she stayed by the door holding her bag. You were pulling some sheets out of the closet when you saw her standing there, out the corner of your eye. You made a comment about making herself at home and she replied with a scoff and a tiny "This is the first time i've been in your room you know."

She insisted that you let her sleep on the floor because she wasn't going to kick you out of the bed. After a minute of going back and forth she compromised by suggesting that you share the bed. So now here you are, with Holly curled into your side and your arm half asleep because you don't want to risk waking her by moving it. You lay there a few more minutes, nothing really running through your head except the fact that once again, Holly is in your arms. She gives a little groan and her arm tightens around your waist for a second. You look at her face, waiting for the tell-tale sign that she's waking up. She scrunches her nose and you let out a sigh, moving your arm just a little in order to wake it up. As soon as you get comfortable again she abruptly sits up. She starts to swing her legs over the side of the bed but you roll over and stop her.

"Gail, I am going to be late for work." she yawns attempting to swat your hand away.

You look at the clock and scrunch your eyebrows. "Do you always wake up at 6? There wasn't even a timer set."

"It's called an internal clock. Gail, I'm serious. Let go."

"You're not going to work." You say rolling on top of her, successfully pinning her to the bed.

She throws her head back on the pillow and huffs, and you think you hear a tiny "gail" from behind the mass of hair that has fallen on her face. You gently brush the hair away from her face and grin. "For someone who has only gotten an hour of sleep you are extremely adorable."

"Gail. I am being serious." she's trying to keep a straight face but you can see the smile she wants to let out at your comment.

"Holly. I'm serious." you mock her. "You've slept for an hour, maybe less. Someone tried to break into your apartment last night. You are not going to work. I've already texted your boss, she agrees that it's best if you take a day off. You've been working yourself too hard anyway."

She doesn't say anything, she just stares at you. You place a lingering kiss on her forehead and roll off of her and onto your back. Your eyes are closed again but you feel the bed move and you know she's sat up.

"Gail."

"hmm"

You feel her hand on your neck, her fingertips moving towards your cheek. When you open your eyes Holly stops watching her fingers and meets your gaze. Her thumb trails softly over your bottom lip and down to your chin.

"You're amazing you know that?" she says keeping eye contact.

You want to turn away from her attention and compliments but you can't bring yourself to do it. Instead you bring your hand up to rest on her bicep and she continues to explore your face with her feather-light touch.

"I'm far from it Holly."

She just shakes her head and moves so shes straddling your legs. She moves her hand to your shoulder and leans down so her head is resting on your chest.

"You're an amazing person Gail. I hate that you don't see it. I see it in you every day, sometimes you make it hard, and sometimes you make it almost impossible." She lifts up just enough so she can meet your eyes once again and you lay your arm across her back. "No matter how hard you make it though, I always see it, it's always shining through. You glow Gail" she smiles and rests her hand on your cheek.

"Holly-" you start but you don't get any farther because her lips are on yours. She tilts her head and her hair falls around you like a curtain, keeping the kiss a secret from the darkness. You tighten your hand around her bicep as she gives a slight tug to your bottom lip. She has completely engulfed your senses and you have no objections. It's been ages since you've been kissed like this. It's slow, yet powerful. It reaches to your very core and wakes up something inside you. You've missed this, not just her lips but _her_. You miss the way she feels in your arms, you miss the way her muscles react when you run your hand up her back, the way she giggles after you kiss just behind her ear. You're taken out of your thoughts when she pulls away from you and lingers with her lips and inch from yours.

As she moves her hand to your hair you close your eyes and breath out a simple, "I miss you."

She moves away from your mouth and presses a kiss to your neck, then your cheek and rests her head to your chest again. "I miss you too." she whispers into your shirt. It's followed by a quiet "Thanks. Thanks for being there."

"Always."

She wraps her arms around you and you whisper into the darkness a hundred more times that you miss her and you think, that you wouldn't change a thing about this moment.


End file.
